Never Lose Hope: An Adventure In India

“Uncertainty is the essence of adventure.”

That’s what Kepa Acero says, and we certainly believe him. Kepa has found waves in some of the wildest (see: most uncertain) places on earth. His passion for exploring is never-ending and his contributions to surfing are undeniable.

In 2012, Kepa found what he thought could be a world-class wave on an island off the coast of India. So he waited for a swell, booked a ticket, grabbed a board, went alone and tried to make it happen.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

Kepa needed to hire a boat to take him out to the island — but, due to the language barrier, he wasn’t able to communicate that to the locals. As a result, he stayed on the mainland. So close yet so far from his dream. All he could do was let his mind run wild with visions of perfection just out of reach.

Over five years later, Natxo Gonzalez called and convinced him to try again. The pair grabbed another close friend, Aritz Aranburu, and that’s where the adventure began.

We don’t want to spoil it for you, so we’ll just leave it at this: they eventually found themselves written about in a local Indian newspaper for all the wrong reasons.